


be there when i fall

by Cannes



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, M/M, POV Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier Flirts, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:15:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24404149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cannes/pseuds/Cannes
Summary: It hadn't hurt.Falling, that is.His body folding in on itself protectively, arm curling up to cushion his head and knees tucking to his chest.Maybe his body was more capable of self preservation than his mother told him it was.Maybe it hadn't hurt because he had Richie to land on.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	be there when i fall

"Don't let me fall!"

The August heat was radiating off of the asphalt; hardened black tar rippling like bay waves down the empty parking lot.

Eddie could feel the prickle of sweat clinging to his skin beneath the pads strapped to his knees and elbows; a gift from Richie, who had casually tossed the protective gear at him with a laugh and a joke about not wanting to damage the goods.

"You're going to fall eventually," Richie said from his position in front. He had both of Eddie's hands in his own and was walking backwards at an almost painfully slow and yet strikingly too fast pace. "You just have to learn how to fall _correctly_."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Richie spun around and took off, dragging Eddie behind him like Georgie Denbrough's Radio Flyer wagon.

"Stop _stop_ **stop _stop_**!" Eddie cried. He tucked his chin to his chest, firmly closing his eyes and waited for the inevitable impact between his body and the abandoned parking lot.

It didn't come, for a long while. Eddie just felt the tug of his arms in their sockets, the almost instinctual clenching of his abdominal muscles as he balanced his weight on the skateboard.

He opened his eyes slightly, head cocked to the left just in time to watch the old Hannaford's grocery store go rushing by in a blur as they cut through the humid air like how he imagined one of those fighter jets his father had flown in the Air Force had done in Vietnam.

The rhythmic ticking sound of the wheels against the uneven earth was almost calming as Richie yanked him into a slow turn around a light post. Something was possessing Eddie's body, because as they circled the cement block, his knees bent slightly while his center of focus shifted enough to keep his equilibrium.

They picked up speed again, and Eddie kept his eyes open this time as they darted back down what would have been a one-way aisle during the store's operating hours.

"Hang on," Richie called over his shoulder as they swerved through the fading parking lines and opposite the storefront.

The other boy's curls were bouncing wildly against the nape of his neck; hideous purple and green and vertically striped button-up shirt billowing behind him like a superhero's cape from one of their shared comic books.

The sudden urge to laugh and cry hit Eddie like a rather rough punch to the gut, and he couldn't tell why the fear of getting hurt _ala_ road rash somehow seemed more indefinite as they chased the sun at three miles per hour, at best. 

"Brace yourself, Eds." Was all the warning he got as the wheels hit grass and lurched him forward; the soles of his shoes scraping against the abrasive surface of the skateboard, while he body went flying through the air.

He landed with a thud on something lumpy and warm, and, dazedly, he thought it felt a lot like the old couch from their hideout in the woods before he caught a glimpse of black hair and felt the touch of skin on skin.

It hadn't hurt. Falling, that is.

His body folding in on itself protectively, arm curling up to cushion his head and knees tucking to his chest.

Maybe his body was more capable of self preservation than his mother told him it was.

Maybe it hadn't hurt because he had Richie to land on.

"You absolute jackass," he wheezed, anyway. "You total prick! You said you wouldn't let me fall! You did this on purpose just to be a jerk, you fucking jerk!" he said, all in a rush while he slapped at his friend's laughing chest with less heat or malice than maybe he intended.

When he was done, Eddie let his fist rest just above Richie's rapidly beating heart, breathing heavy; warm blush creeping into his cheeks as he realized he was straddling the other boy's hips. He promptly shoved himself to the side to land on his back in the grass, arms crossed and petulance in place. 

Richie was still laughing next to him as Eddie seethed out his nose, corners of his mouth twitching unwillingly every so often.

They stayed in silence for a little while. An almost uncomfortable while for Eddie, as his stomach clenched and un-clenched and blood pumped nerves and adrenaline through his system that he wasn't sure where to place emotionally. 

"You gotta learn to fall, Eds," Richie said, unusually quiet. "Then, when it happens for real, you won't get hurt so bad." 

**Author's Note:**

> You know that feeling when you wake up at 4AM and an hour before your alarm goes off because 401(k) contributions and suddenly have to get the image of Eddie skateboarding out of your head? 
> 
> No? 
> 
> Oh... Me either, i guess....


End file.
